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History unearthed (and no dirt)

Sara Durflinger, far right, prepared to unseal a 25-year-old time capsule Thursday at the Baker County Library. Local Girl Scouts filled the capsule in 1987. Gathered to watch the opening, wearing blue shirts from left to right, are Girl Scouts Megan Hurley, Kerryn Bauer, Ashlyn Bauer, Tristen Tritt, and Emma Lowe. Also attending were Trinity Harrell, in the pink shirt, whose mom, Autumn Swiger-Harrell helped seal the canister 25 years ago, and in the background, Earlinda Crider, left, who’s Emma’s grandmother, and in the center, Trinity’s grandmother (and Autumn’s mom), Lorna Swiger.

By LISA BRITTON

For the Baker City Herald

The canister, marked with instructions to open on March 12, 2012, is full of mystery.

Twenty-five years ago, Girl Scout troops from Baker City and Haines filled the cylinder and sealed it with masking tape to commemorate the 75th year of Girl Scouts.

This year the Girl Scouts are celebrating 100 years, and on Thursday, a local troop opened the time capsule at the Baker County Library, where it has been kept safe all these years.

Well, the opening came by the small hands of 3-year-old Trinity Harrell, whose mom, Autumn Swiger-Harrell, helped seal the canister 25 years ago.

(Autumn was out of town Thursday.)

Sara Durflinger, who was at the library when the capsule was created, also helped to open it.

No dirty hands, either, since the capsule was stored in the building, not buried.

As Trinity and Durflinger unwound the yards of masking tape, troop leader Megan Curry got the Scouts thinking about what they might find.

“Who thinks there’s a dinosaur?” she asked.

Her only answer was giggles, as the girls, ages 5 to 8, kept their eyes on the canister.

Then the contents spilled out — copies of the Democrat-Herald and Record Courier newspapers, an order sheet for Girl Scout cookies ($2 a box then), photographs and many sheets of paper with notes from the Girl Scouts of that time.

After all had been revealed, the current troop sat down to write letters to themselves, which will be gathered with photographs, an empty cookie box and newspapers to be sealed up in another time capsule to be opened in 2037.

Curry said she will probably send the 1987 capsule to the Girl Scout Council, but first may put the contents on display at the library.